My son has now passed the half way mark on his adventure of hiking the entire length of the 2,138 mile Appalachian Trail as evidenced by the photo above. He continues to seem to be having a wonderful time and is traveling in association with some other through hikers that he met weeks ago, two of whom are pictured with him in the photo below where they are getting a ride into Front Royal, Virginia, located at the northern end of the Blue Ridge Mountains. In addition to continuing to see plentiful numbers of deer, he has also seen bears. I am very proud and pleased that he is demonstrating the courage to live his own life rather than trying to live a life that others would have him live. Would that I had found such courage far earlier in my life. I often feel that by the time I summoned the courage to do so that it was too late to truly matter. Other times I feel it is a case of better late than never. Sadly, we only get one shot at life and I definitely feel that I messed it up big time
My son has now passed the half way mark on his adventure of hiking the entire length of the 2,138 mile Appalachian Trail as evidenced by the photo above. He continues to seem to be having a wonderful time and is traveling in association with some other through hikers that he met weeks ago, two of whom are pictured with him in the photo below where they are getting a ride into Front Royal, Virginia, located at the northern end of the Blue Ridge Mountains. In addition to continuing to see plentiful numbers of deer, he has also seen bears. I am very proud and pleased that he is demonstrating the courage to live his own life rather than trying to live a life that others would have him live. Would that I had found such courage far earlier in my life. I often feel that by the time I summoned the courage to do so that it was too late to truly matter. Other times I feel it is a case of better late than never. Sadly, we only get one shot at life and I definitely feel that I messed it up big time
3 comments:
Michael,
I don't believe there is one person in this world who doesn't have regrets of what could have been. We all fall into that trap of looking back and wondering/wishing what could have been. The thing is that one never knows if that life would have been as good or better as the one you live.
Personally, I think if I had had the courage to come out in my late teens or early 20s that it is quite possible I would have contracted HIV given my sexual proclivities. So, I thank God that I didn't come out until much later and had a more mature outlook to life and sex. And, most importantly, I know that I never would have had children and my daughters are the most precious possession I have now.
So, while you have had some major tribulations in your life and you have regrets, it is much more important that you appreciate what you have now and make the rest of your life positive. As I have learned from experience and reading, we can't change the past and can't control th future, so live in the moment and live and love well.
David
But you're still alive, and you've learned from your mistakes. That's what makes you the (lovely) person you are today.
I'm proud for you that your son is doing this grand thing. You do grand things yourself. I wonder how much your example influenced his decision to take this trip.
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